pvn

.....

xliioper

No, upgrade priority will fall below Silver's when on separate PNR's (or is based on their own status level if they have status). At least that's what I've experience personally.

flyerCO

Read the rest of the post, including an example (the only one, so not conclusive) of where it happened and noticeably helped. As I stated above, if this isn't correct I'm curious how they moved my boss up the list. I will agree that I was under the impression they went last, but the airport agent insisted that wasn't correct.

SDQBound

Your conclusions are erroneous, flyerCO.

Sponsoring medallion status only applies to same PNR. Very often I travel with my spouse, we both get the same fare class but often cannot get the two reservations in one PNR. Here are my observations after at least 25 segments:

Same PNR: We are often skipped at the PM window but still clear sometime between the PM and GM window or go to the gate, at the gate her name appear behind min as long as we check in at the same time or I check in first. If she checks in before I do (for many reasons including the amazing DL system not letting me check-in due to visa requirements but strangely allowing her to check in despite having the same travel documents, or if she arrives to the airport before I do) then she is listed as a GM and appears several names after mine. Manual intervention is necessary to bring her back to my status priority.

Individual PNR: I still link both reservations and DL confirms she is listed as my companion, however, she is always listed as a Gold. If I'm traveling with a non-status companion, they never receive PM priority and clear right after FOs but before FB Elites (I've traveled with non-elite companions and FB elites at the same time and this is how they are listed).

flyerCO

I'm going on what agents have told me and experience. Albeit experience limited to the one time at band camp.* I'm believing you, but it does make me wonder how the agent got my companion moved up the list.

*Thus not necessarily indicative of what is supposed to be the real experience.

joyoustravel

I booked myself and a friend using my Delta Amex Companion ticket ATL-LAX. I am gold, companion silver. She gets no milage credit. We must check in together. Odds of getting an upgrade on that flight slim to none, and we checked bags at airport so I never looked at the upgrade list. Upon boarding, she is behind me. She gets upgraded to EC window seat. I did not. I did not go back and argue with the gate agent as it’s a full flight, etc. I did ask the flight attendants and they were not helpful. My friend gave her upgrade to whomever they had sat next to me.

I filed a complaint on Delta website--but has anyone had this happen to them before? Is Delta treating golds less than silvers?

pvn

when you and a companion are on the same PNR, you get the same upgrade priority. Clearly something is functioning as a tie breaker that put your friend slightly ahead of you. We've seen this a few times, but it's not clear what the tie breaker is. There have been theories about it being alphabetical, or based on time of check-in, etc but nobody knows for sure.

Was your PNR split? You may want to check that, since theoretically they shouldn't upgrade only one person on the PNR.

joyoustravel

No it was not split. We checked in/ our bags in at the same time. We arrived at the gate at the same time. It is a companion fare so you must fly together or the trip is cancelled. I am also a million miler, she is not. It shows up on my receipts page as being the same PNR. In the past, my husband and I got upgraded together but he is gold as well.

SDQBound

I've had this happen only once, no one could figure out what happened, although we both cleared.

pvn

What time you check in and what time you show up at the gate has nothing to do with whether the PNR was split or not. Do you have a return leg?

ATLawyer

In my experience, if my companion is on a separate PNR, they are on the list at their level (in my case, general member, thus below FO). If we are on the same PNR, we are together, and it's totally random who is ahead of whom. We have never been "split" upgraded--always called by the gate agent before that happens and offered a choice (I believe this is what is supposed to happen, but often for whatever reason, time, training, etc., often fails to).

sethb

When on the same PNR, my wife is usually listed immediately ahead of me. I'm DM, she has no status.

joyoustravel

I received a call from a Delta agent. He said once we check in we both show up as “gold” medallion as she was my companion. The System then listed her before me as her last name begins with a B, mine is end of alphabet. I asked; to be clear--he was saying Delta clears upgrades based upon alphabetical order, all things being equal he said yes.

Sounded fishy. Probably a glitch. We return tomorrow and we both received upgrade.

SDQBound

As I explained before, seems that all things being equal it goes by request time. I have noticed that the sequential order of the ticket number is lowest for my spouse, whose last name goes before mine in the alphabet, my conclusion is that since she is ticketed a few seconds before I am, the request time also reflects this time difference. Again, just a theory and could be completely divorced from reality.